Among the 2023 winners of The James Beard Foundation®, is Jamaican Chef Andrew Black. Presented by Capital One, the awards honors excellence across the culinary industry, from fine dining to casual gems in our communities, while also supporting and encouraging a more sustainable industry.
The winners were announced on June 5, 2023, during a live ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
co-hosted by Eric Adjepong, chef, author, and host of Alex vs America; Esther Choi, chef and owner of
mŏkbar and ms.yoo; Gail Simmons, author, producer, and Top Chef judge; and Andrew Zimmern, James
Beard Award winner, TV personality, chef, writer, and social justice advocate. Approximately 1,500 guests
were in attendance.
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Additional presenters included Mashama Bailey, James Beard Award–winning chef and restaurateur, The
Grey; Chris Bianco, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur, Pizzeria Bianco; Monti Carlo, TV
personality, food writer, and host of the Food Network’s Help My Yelp; Sarah Grueneberg, James Beard
Award-winning chef and restaurateur, Monteverde; Tahiirah Habibi, sommelier, founder of The Hue
Society, and James Beard Awards Committee member; Carla Hall, cookbook author, chef, and TV
personality; Tanya Holland, chef, author, James Beard Foundation trustee, and Awards Committee Chair;
and Erick Williams, James Beard Award-winning chef, and restaurateur, Virtue Restaurant; among others.
“Congratulations to the exceptional winners of this year’s Restaurant and Chef Awards—whose
incredible achievements and dedication to culinary excellence have left an indelible mark on our
industry,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation. “As we celebrate, it’s
important to acknowledge the significant work that these accomplished restaurants and chefs have done
to push American food culture forward—using their immense creativity, passion, and talent to create
extraordinary experiences on behalf of others. Thanks to them, our food future is bright, indeed.”
“As we celebrate the second year of the new awards process, we were thrilled to witness the remarkable
talent showcased by our 2023 nominees and winners, who represent the true diversity of gifted chefs and
outstanding restaurants that exist across the industry,” said Holland. “I am deeply appreciative to the
committee members for their thoughtful deliberations that were instrumental in recognizing and honoring
some of the brightest and most innovative minds in our industry.”
“On behalf of the committee, we are excited for all of this year’s Restaurant and Chef Award winners,”
said Adrian Miller, Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee Chair and Allecia Vermillion,
Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee Vice-Chair. “We are thrilled to celebrate excellence
exemplified by the quality and diverse restaurants and chefs who play a pivotal role in shaping our
country’s vibrant culinary landscape.”
“As a chef, it is a privilege and an honor to co-host this year’s Restaurant and Chef Awards,” said
Adjepong. Added Choi: “Thank you to the Beard Foundation for giving us this opportunity.”
“To play a key role in celebrating our fellow chefs and restaurateurs has been such a joy,” said Simmons.
“Congratulations to this year’s winners. Your work makes us proud to be a part of our country’s
independent restaurant industry,” concluded Zimmern.
2023 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Award Winners
The James Beard Awards, considered to be among the nation’s most prestigious honors, recognize
exceptional talent in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system, as well as a
demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all
can thrive. Established in 1990, with the first ceremony taking place in 1991, the Restaurant and Chef
Awards is one of five separate recognition programs for the Awards.
Jamaican Andrew Black of Grey Sweater, Oklahoma City, OK copped Best Chef: Southwest (AZ, NM, NV, OK)
Black said, “This win is not just for me” adds the chef. “It’s a win for St Mary, the parish of my birth, for Barracks River, Richmond [where I was raised]; for my grandmother Elizabeth Bandoo who introduced me to the kitchen; and to my home economics teacher Maureen Cunningham who encouraged me to pursue my passion for food even when I was being teased for being the sole male student.”
He is a 2023 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef Southwest, and a 2022 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Chef–is a chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur in Oklahoma City. Born in Jamaica to an Indo-Jamaican family, where chapati was cooked on a handmade clay oven over an open fire; Chef Black was often tasked with building outdoor clay ovens for his grandmother as a child. From working his way through the island’s resort kitchens, to staging his way through fine dining restaurants in Europe as a young adult with the support of the Jamaican government, to finally finding himself as a business leader and tastemaker in Oklahoma City with the inimitable fine dining venture Grey Sweater, trend-setting Black Walnut, and chic patisserie Gilded Acorn. He is author of the cookbook Foraging in Oklahoma: Tales and Recipes from the Open Road, as told to The Oklahoman’s Steve Lackmeyer.
Follow Chef Black on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/chefandrewblack/
